Fermentation proces

My first ever batch started active fermentation about 24 to 30 hours after going in to primary fermenter. There was good activity in the air lock for about 12 hours, then nothing. There has been no noticeable activity for the next 24 to 36 hours. Is something wrong? If there is, what should I do?

There are a lot of factors to consider. What was your gravity before pitching? Fermentation temps? Yeast used/style brewed? Did you make a starter? Its possible that the beer is too dense or not enough for the yeast to do its work. I have recently brewed a Batch that the recipe had called for a lot of sugar dissolved into it. My starter had issues so i had to pitch strait from 2 smack packs. It took 2 days to start any activity and dropped out pretty quickly. I carefully roused the yeast, trying not to splash any oxygen into the beer, and it picked back up again. Its been slowly going for a few days strait now. Not sure how it'll turn out but every experimental batch is..well...and experiment.

What are you using to tell if there is no activity. Airlock bubbling is not a feremntation gauge. You had feremnetation start so just let it be for a few weeks and you will have beer. So step away from the fermenter and let the yeast do what it has been doing for thousands of years. The yeast knows what it is doing.

This vidoe shows that airlock bubbling means nothing except the pressure inside is higher than outside. Think this one is done?

keithschults said:

My first ever batch started active fermentation about 24 to 30 hours after going in to primary fermenter. There was good activity in the air lock for about 12 hours, then nothing. There has been no noticeable activity for the next 24 to 36 hours. Is something wrong? If there is, what should I do?

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Do nothing. Don't open the fermenter. Leave it alone so that the yeast can complete their task.

Bubbles in the airlock are a nice reassurance, but there's still necessary activity going on in there even after they stop. Give it another week and then take a gravity reading.

I have a bucket that doesn't seal well so I only get airlock activity during the most active part of fermentation...this is also why I switched to carboys! Even after brewing for several years I am an unapologetic fermentation watcher. I am like a little kid every time a batch takes off, the krausen starts to build, & the airlock is popping!
Leave it be for at least a week.

One nice thing about have gotten started with Mr. Beer is they don't have any mother-****ing airlocks and you never get into the ridiculously bad habit of using an airlock to gauge activity.

Airlock activity means *nothing*. *Nothing*. *NOTHING*. *!!!NOTHING!!!* !*!*!*N*O*T*H*I*N*G*!*!*!